The De Groot Incident

[A sequence of four photographs depicting the De Groot incident.]

The opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was to be marked by the cutting of a ribbon by the premier of NSW J.T. Lang, an event which was opposed by a right wing group known as the New Guard , who believed the only person who should open the bridge should be a member of the royal family.

Captain Francis De Groot, a former Hussar and a senior member of the New Guard, disguised as a military horseman disrupted the opening ceremony by slashing the ribbon with his sword. De Groot declared declared the Bridge open in the name of "decent citizens of New South Wales".

De Groot was arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital. He was later declared sane, but fined 5 pounds and charged for offensive behaviour in a public place.